A Close Look At A Rare Dinosaur Nest Of 12 Oviraptor Eggs

Friday, 9 February 2018 14:53:27 Europe/London

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OVIRAPTOR DINOSAUR NEST OF 12 EGGS

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GENUS & THE OVIRAPTOR

Rare Oviraptor partial crescent egg nest discovery a scientifically important find in Xixia Basin Kaoguo Formation, in the Henan Province of China. From the Mesozoic era, in the fossil layer of the Maastrichtian stage, the late Cretaceous period around 72 to 66 million years ago. Science has determined The oviraptor dinosaurs were paternally protective of their nests, adult oviraptor dinosaur skeletons have even been found lying over their eggs, one can only guess at why this is so possibly as some cataclysmic event befell the nesting grounds, the parent oviraptor could have been shielding the nest from harm or possibly a predator other theories put forward include the adult died while incubating their eggs. Discoveries made in the last few decades have helped to substantiate the theory of bird-like behaviour among oviraptor dinosaurs and the sedentariness of the parents has given more clues to the habits of oviraptors, it is now thought they did brood over their eggs and possibly stayed with the hatchlings for a period of time. Oviraptor was about the size of an Ostrich or Emu. When first discovered it was described as a bird-like dinosaur. The oviraptors strong beak-like jaws capable of cracking down on its prey. Again recent discoveries learn towards oviraptors the main diet being mollusc and crustacea and perhaps supplemented by slower prey it could catch, even small lizards.

ELEMENTS

fossilisation has preserved this extraordinary natural element for millions of years up to being exhumed. Now in a stable state, the dinosaur fossil egg nest can be conserved for all time. Often fossils are destroyed by earth movements, tectonic plate movement has no doubt destroyed millions or billions of fossil deposits. The eggshell has through the process of permineralization undergone a metamorphism. Through the action of soluble minerals in water coursing through, under pressure, the cellular tissue of the eggs, a transformation has taken place and basically turned the eggshell into stone. A limestone block supports this nest, this is the actual fossil bed dug from around the eggs and used to create a pedestal exhibit.

OUR LARGEST SET OF 12 EGGS

The crescent form of the egg-laying pattern represents a partial nest, it is thought that oviraptor would lay a circular set of doubled eggs, a sort of doughnut with the central hole or a gap. possible laying a double row, laying the elongate eggs on top of each other and as many as 24-48 eggs. Currently, this dozen eggs are the largest number of eggs from the same individual in our collection and are quite remarkable when one considers just how rare dinosaur fossils actually are. A great study group and an aesthetically pleasing exhibit.

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EDITOR NOTES

''On a personal note, I personally love this group, the soft tones are very appealing, also having a greater part of the fossil bed still attached is uncommon. The fossilised eggshell exhibits pustules and dimples of the once brittle surface where air pores occurred and one can only guess or imagine the texture of the unfossilised egg when having run ones fingers over the surface of these solid eggs.” Nests are becoming increasingly difficult to attain and therefore the investment possibilities of any good egg nest must be considered at a premium, particularly as natural history and in particular prehistoric artefacts and fossils are becoming more desirable with each passing year. Never before has so much been discovered nor covered in the paleontological scene as since nineteen ninety and the release of Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park.

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OVERVIEW

The first embryos or juvenile skeletons found in dinosaur eggs came from raptor eggs, Mr Terry Manning of Leicester, UK was featured in the National Geographic along with other raptor egg embryo discoveries, he dissolving Therizinosaur types of dinosaur eggs in weak acids which ate away at a rate 1/2000 of an inch per day, exposing the internal part of up to fifty eggs at one time, in an most earnest experiment to finally put pay to the debate about the possibility of ever finding a baby dinosaur skeleton. Mr Manning went even further in discovering it was possible to discover a baby oviraptor dinosaur within a fossilised egg and much more. Time and again Mr Manning destroyed egg after egg in pursuit of his goal, which eventually bore the fruits of his endeavour in the complete and perfect form of one embryo or baby oviraptor within the egg. This was the Dinosaur Egg Project, Mr Manning published a paper about his work and discoveries in 1996.

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